There is not a more dominant inspiration behind my work than the open, expansive landscape. I long for escapes from our modern, cluttered everyday, seeking wide-open areas where I immerse myself within the sensory stimuli of natural light, sound, and other such ephemera. My yearning for these experiences manifests itself in dissimilar yet intertwining styles of work. There are whimsical abstractions where elements such as quilts and trees fly through the sky, and there are darker narratives touching on ritual, lore, and death.
Resumé
| pulford_resume_2024.pdf |
Matt Pulford
Davenport, Iowa
Education
1999–2002 Graduate Study in Printmaking and Painting, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
1998 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Printmaking and Drawing, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
1995 Associate of Arts, Fine Art, Black Hawk College, Moline, Illinois
Solo exhibitions
2018 The Grayed Air — Quad City Arts, Rock Island, Illinois
2017 Rain Clearing, Breezy Overnight. — Annex Gallery, Western Illinois University – Macomb, Illinois
2016 Wandern-Bird — Morrissey Gallery, Saint Ambrose University – Davenport, Iowa
2012 downed / drowned — Black Hawk College Art Gallery – Moline, Illinois
2010 Pour Out the Sky — Midcoast Fine Arts at Bucktown - Davenport, Iowa
2009 Amelia and Josephine: Recent Work by Matt Pulford — McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, Illinois
2004 Iowa — Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, Illinois
2003 Lines & Time — Northbrook Public Library ArtSpace, Northbrook, Illinois
2001 Matt Pulford: Small Paintings — McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, Illinois
i thought i could fly — Quad City Arts, Rock Island, Illinois
1998 The ‘Versus Me’ Farm Project — University Galleries, Normal, Illinois
Selected group exhibitions
2024 RIAG Regional Biennial - Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa
2016 Kindred: ISU Printmaking Alumni Exhibition – Jan Brandt Gallery,Bloomington, Illinois
RIFAE — Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa
2012 ELEMENTAL (with Steve Banks, Emily Christenson, and Terry Rathje) — Midcoast Gallery West - Rock Island, Illinois
RIFAE — Augustana College Art Museum, Rock Island, Illinois
2011 m i d d l e s t a t e s — Anderson Gallery, Drake University – Des Moines, Iowa
2009 Grätüitöüs Umläüt — PUNCH Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Nowhere Close to Normal (traveling exhibit) — Red Delicious Press Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2008 Nowhere Close to Normal (traveling exhibit) — Fort Hays State University Gallery, Hays, Kansas
Mechanical Advantage (collaboration with Steve Banks and Terry Rathje) — Midcoast raw space at Bucktown, Davenport, Iowa
Nowhere Close to Normal (traveling exhibit) — Perks Coffee House, Athens, Ohio
Nowhere Close to Normal (traveling exhibit) — Arts Cafe at the Figge, Davenport, Iowa
2007 Faculty Exhibition — Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa
Shared History — Surplus Gallery, University of Illinois at Carbondale
ISU Printmaking Alumni Exhibition — McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, Illinois
2006 Group Show at Quad City Arts, Rock Island, Illinois
2005 The Sophisticated Traveler artist collective, showing at Art Chicago 2005, Chicago, Illinois
Stimuli — SNAP Gallery (Society of Northern Alberta Printmakers) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2004 Extension — Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, Illinois
The Sophisticated Traveler artist collective, showing at Stray Show 2004, Chicago, Illinois
2002 Shawn Smith, Matt Pulford, Bob Jones, Chris Shepherd — Midway Artists Gallery, Bloomington, Illinois
2001 Us & Them — University of Regina Art Gallery; Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Jaspar Arts Center 8th Annual — Krempp Gallery, Jaspar, Indiana
2000 Breakdown: Tyler Budge, Mitch Mitchell, and Matt Pulford — Phoenix Gallery, Bloomington, Illinois
On/Of Paper — The Clyde Snook Gallery, Alamosa, Colorado
Giradot National Drawing Exhibition — Gallery 100, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
In Print 2000 — Phoenix Gallery, Bloomington, Illinois
Paper in Particular — Columbia College, Columbia, Missouri
1999 Works on Paper Biennial — Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Decatur, IL
Impressions '99 — University Galleries, Normal, Illinois
Recent Prints — Pigeon Gallery, Normal, Illinois
Six Degrees of Separation: Isolation & Self — Phoenix Gallery, Bloomington, Illinois
Selected Collections
Blue Tree Counseling & Consultation, Iowa
Dr. Merry Wilson (Ed.D.), Arizona
Dr. Robert Elfline (D.M.A.), Illinois
Residencies
2024 - Art Farm - Marquette, Nebraska
Davenport, Iowa
Education
1999–2002 Graduate Study in Printmaking and Painting, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
1998 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Printmaking and Drawing, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
1995 Associate of Arts, Fine Art, Black Hawk College, Moline, Illinois
Solo exhibitions
2018 The Grayed Air — Quad City Arts, Rock Island, Illinois
2017 Rain Clearing, Breezy Overnight. — Annex Gallery, Western Illinois University – Macomb, Illinois
2016 Wandern-Bird — Morrissey Gallery, Saint Ambrose University – Davenport, Iowa
2012 downed / drowned — Black Hawk College Art Gallery – Moline, Illinois
2010 Pour Out the Sky — Midcoast Fine Arts at Bucktown - Davenport, Iowa
2009 Amelia and Josephine: Recent Work by Matt Pulford — McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, Illinois
2004 Iowa — Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, Illinois
2003 Lines & Time — Northbrook Public Library ArtSpace, Northbrook, Illinois
2001 Matt Pulford: Small Paintings — McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, Illinois
i thought i could fly — Quad City Arts, Rock Island, Illinois
1998 The ‘Versus Me’ Farm Project — University Galleries, Normal, Illinois
Selected group exhibitions
2024 RIAG Regional Biennial - Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa
2016 Kindred: ISU Printmaking Alumni Exhibition – Jan Brandt Gallery,Bloomington, Illinois
RIFAE — Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa
2012 ELEMENTAL (with Steve Banks, Emily Christenson, and Terry Rathje) — Midcoast Gallery West - Rock Island, Illinois
RIFAE — Augustana College Art Museum, Rock Island, Illinois
2011 m i d d l e s t a t e s — Anderson Gallery, Drake University – Des Moines, Iowa
2009 Grätüitöüs Umläüt — PUNCH Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Nowhere Close to Normal (traveling exhibit) — Red Delicious Press Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2008 Nowhere Close to Normal (traveling exhibit) — Fort Hays State University Gallery, Hays, Kansas
Mechanical Advantage (collaboration with Steve Banks and Terry Rathje) — Midcoast raw space at Bucktown, Davenport, Iowa
Nowhere Close to Normal (traveling exhibit) — Perks Coffee House, Athens, Ohio
Nowhere Close to Normal (traveling exhibit) — Arts Cafe at the Figge, Davenport, Iowa
2007 Faculty Exhibition — Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa
Shared History — Surplus Gallery, University of Illinois at Carbondale
ISU Printmaking Alumni Exhibition — McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, Illinois
2006 Group Show at Quad City Arts, Rock Island, Illinois
2005 The Sophisticated Traveler artist collective, showing at Art Chicago 2005, Chicago, Illinois
Stimuli — SNAP Gallery (Society of Northern Alberta Printmakers) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2004 Extension — Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, Illinois
The Sophisticated Traveler artist collective, showing at Stray Show 2004, Chicago, Illinois
2002 Shawn Smith, Matt Pulford, Bob Jones, Chris Shepherd — Midway Artists Gallery, Bloomington, Illinois
2001 Us & Them — University of Regina Art Gallery; Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Jaspar Arts Center 8th Annual — Krempp Gallery, Jaspar, Indiana
2000 Breakdown: Tyler Budge, Mitch Mitchell, and Matt Pulford — Phoenix Gallery, Bloomington, Illinois
On/Of Paper — The Clyde Snook Gallery, Alamosa, Colorado
Giradot National Drawing Exhibition — Gallery 100, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
In Print 2000 — Phoenix Gallery, Bloomington, Illinois
Paper in Particular — Columbia College, Columbia, Missouri
1999 Works on Paper Biennial — Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Decatur, IL
Impressions '99 — University Galleries, Normal, Illinois
Recent Prints — Pigeon Gallery, Normal, Illinois
Six Degrees of Separation: Isolation & Self — Phoenix Gallery, Bloomington, Illinois
Selected Collections
Blue Tree Counseling & Consultation, Iowa
Dr. Merry Wilson (Ed.D.), Arizona
Dr. Robert Elfline (D.M.A.), Illinois
Residencies
2024 - Art Farm - Marquette, Nebraska